Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

He’s perhaps this year’s most celebrated figure, but we still know remarkably little about the hirsute, tangerine, hockey monster known as Gritty. Case in point: After sending a half dozen emails to various authorities, I’m no closer to identifying the strange, purple opening on his belly.

Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. Bye!Read more...

I was ready for this all to be about Novak Djokovic. Novak Djokovic, having reclaimed the No. 1 ranking, was ready for this to be all about Novak Djokovic. His level of play over the last half of the season, and specifically over the last week, is a psychoactive substance. Sunday marked the end of the ATP Finals, the…Read more...

This weekend, I fired up The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, the new Western from the Coen Brothers. While a great film, it was an exhausting affair.Read more...

The Deadspin Awards will take place on Dec. 5, and you can come! We also need our readers to decide the winners of these prestigious honors. Today, we ask you to help us determine the answer to an important question: Who is the worst media personality?

Former Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon, who resigned from her position back in January, has been charged by the Michigan Attorney General’s office on two felony counts and two misdemeanor counts of lying to police. From the Lansing State Journal:Read more...

To hear her tell the story, Twitch streamer Sweet_Anita has lived a fascinating and unusual life.Read more...

If size is the most important consideration in your hierarchy of new TV needs, Walmart’s running a pretty fantastic deal on a really big TV for Black Friday.

Today, we’re talking about Chewbacca pooping, Trump, dinosaur fights, sneezing, and more.

Here is an easy prediction to make: the Philadelphia Eagles are certainly not going to repeat as Super Bowl champions. It’s very unlikely, at this point, that they will even return to the playoffs. Their 4-6 record relays that information plainly enough, but the 48-7 loss they suffered at the hands of the Saints on…Read more...

On Oct. 10, 2017, the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team suffered the most crushing defeat of its modern era: a 2-1 away loss to the tiny island nation Trinidad & Tobago which—coupled with simultaneous wins for Honduras and Panama—assured that in 2018 they’d be watching the World Cup from home for the first time since…Read more...

At the end of last season, following a fruitless campaign with the Stars, longtime NHL head coach Ken Hitchcock announced his retirement, leaving the NHL after somewhat successful stints with four different franchises and a 1999 Stanley Cup win.Read more...

Update: Back in stock! Seems like we’re only going to get this deal for a couple hours every day, so don’t miss your chance.Read more...

If parody is still possible, the opening montage is beyond parody. You’ve got your orchestral strings. An American flag. The ubiquitous name slapped on the back of a helicopter: TRUMP. Then Dana White in his traditional uniform, jeans and a black shirt with an extra button undone, lavishing praise. “Donald Trump is a…Read more...

Following a shutout loss to the lowly Los Angeles Kings—the first team to fire their coach this year—the St. Louis Blues announced that they were ditching head coach Mike Yeo, who helmed the team for two full seasons with very limited success. Yeo leaves the Blues in the season after he piloted the team to their first…Read more...

The last thing the sad and strange Markelle Fultz saga needed was whatever the hell this is, per David Aldridge:Read more...

Two minutes and seven seconds remained on the clock in last night’s Celtics-Hornets game, and Kemba Walker was tired. He had every right to be: To that point, he’d scored 40 points—18 in the fourth quarter alone—in just under 37 minutes of playing time. And these were not ordinary minutes, but rather Kemba Walker…Read more...

LONDON — The tension continues to mount as Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana remain deadlocked after eight games of their 12-game World Chess Championship match in London. The middle portion of the match saw the continuation and evolution of the players’ fascinating psychological duel, a supercomputer-generated…Read more...

Kotaku Ninja Keeps Reporting Fortnite Rivals, And It’s Not Sitting Well With Fans | Jalopnik California Car Dealers Abruptly Close Without Warning, but Massive SEC Fraud Probe Offers Hint | io9 16 Board Games to Help Survive Thanksgiving Week With Your Family | Lifehacker How to Create Automated Daily Routines on Your…Read more...

In an exhilarating Monday Night Football shootout that saw two of the best young quarterbacks in the world play each other to a near-stalemate, it was the Rams defense that made the difference and earned them the 54-51 win over the Chiefs. Specifically, it was second-year linebacker Samson Ebukam—a fourth-round pick…Read more...

Last week, Kevin Manahan, sports director of NJ.com, posted on his Twitter account to let the public know that he was looking for a Philadelphia 76ers beat writer. You couldn’t quite call this a job listing, as he was offering a monthly stipend rather than a salary or benefits; whatever it was, his posts were as…Read more...

“I might need a couple beverages to relax tonight,” Sean McVay said after the Rams’ 54-51 win over the Chiefs in one of the most satisfying and exhilarating football games ever played. Maybe a cigarette? MNF viewers are walking around this morning like we got laid last night, and you know what? I’m not able to look…Read more...

Van Heusen, longtime purveyor of fine dad clothing, is running a pre-Black Friday sale for one day only on Amazon, and the prices are incredible. We’re talking dress shirts under $20, some casual shirts for even less, and even a bunch of pants in the $15-$25 range. They’re not the most exciting clothes we’ve ever…Read more...

The Kings jumped out to a big early lead over the visiting Thunder Monday night, then withstood a furious Russell Westbrook-led surge, then made a series of clutch buckets and free throws in the final five minutes to secure their second win over OKC this season. Five Kings scored in double-figures; the team made 16…Read more...

The Rams and the Chiefs played the highest-scoring contest in the history of Monday Night Football tonight, a 54–51 barnburner in which every play seemed to go for 18 yards, and every third play seemed to produce a touchdown. It was maybe the most exciting football game I’ve ever watched. Did you miss it to watch…Read more...

We’ve got controversy in the Illinois High School Association Class 7A football playoffs, folks. Two controversies, in fact. One is a fairly mundane case of disorganization in high school football. The other involves costuming and bad parenting and a lawsuit, and a father boasting on social media about how he may have…Read more...

Vincent Trocheck of the Florida Panthers was stretchered off the ice Monday night after twisting and bending his right leg in horrifying fashion. In hockey parlance, this is just another lower body injury; in layman’s terms, Trocheck’s leg bends too far at the knee, and in too many directions below the knee, and is…Read more...

It’s all coming apart in Washington, and by “it” I mean a half-decade of trumped-up semi-relevance in which the team never seriously contended for anything more meaningful than supremacy in the NBA’s Southeast Division. Mutiny is at hand. Soon there will be cannibalism.Read more...

A freshman student at the University of North Texas reported last year to her resident assistant that she was sexually assaulted by members of the college basketball team, according to a recent report by WFAA-TV in Dallas. The RA reported it to campus authorities. Then, hours after the report was made by the RA, two…Read more...

Gizmodo ‘Secret’ Audio Recording Drags $400,000 GoFundMe Debacle Into a New Circle of Hell | Kotaku Red Dead Redemption 2 Players Keep Finding Creepy Easter Eggs | Jalopnik Here’s Proof that Computers and All-Wheel Drive are No Match for Winter Tires | Lifehacker Need a Battery Boost? Turning off Your Android Phone’s…Read more...

Arkansas football coach Chad Morris announced today that defensive backs Kamren Curl and Ryan Pulley would be suspended for this week’s game against Missouri over some high school football-ass behavior. The pair apparently spent some time before last weekend’s embarrassing 52-6 loss to Mississippi State chatting up…Read more...

The Warriors, who might not be all that functional without Steph Curry to make them whir, went 0-3 on their Texas road trip last week. At some point early in Saturday’s 112-109 loss to the Mavericks, Kevin Durant walked up to the front row of fans, craned forward and attempted to shut up some hecklers.

Sunday night’s Gonzaga-DeMatha matchup for DC’s Catholic league title was, objectively speaking, the greatest event in the history of mankind. Sporting or otherwise. (Non-believers can watch it all here.)Read more...

The Colorado Avalanche improved to 10-6-4 on Sunday against the Ducks, thanks to an overtime near-buzzer-beater from their newest young stud: the 22-year-old Finnish right winger Mikko Rantanen. With just 1.3 seconds remaining before a shootout, Rantanen took advantage of the space provided by 4-on-3 play and fired a…Read more...

The Deadspin Awards will take place on Dec. 5, and you can come! We also need our readers to decide the winners of these prestigious honors. Today, we ask you to help us determine the answer to an important question: Who is the worst owner?

I know what you’re thinking. It’s probably something like, “This deal is too good to be true.” But, seriously, it’s as real as it gets. Here’s how to take advantage of it: First, follow this Amazon link, sign up for three months of Amazon Music Unlimited for $1 (new subscribers only), and be sure to click the tiny…Read more...

Les Miles is the new football coach at Kansas, which is a fact that will make you say, “That’s weird!” every time you hear it. He was officially introduced at a press conference yesterday, and he made sure to let everyone know just what a boon to the community his football program is going to be.

Curling has long been billed as a sport that you can play while drinking. While that’s true, and it’s not unheard for recreational and competitive players to have a beer during a game, it’s definitely not true that you can play the game drunk, or at least play it well. That was proven in Alberta this past weekend,…Read more...

UFC flyweight Rachael Ostovich was hospitalized yesterday afternoon after suffering a broken orbital bone following an alleged domestic attack by “someone close to her.” TMZ first reported news of the hospitalization, and the Honolulu Police Department confirmed to TMZ this morning that it has opened a felony domestic…Read more...

Sometimes a losing performance is so searingly good that even the cheeseball who sunk the game-winner has to immediately pay his dues. “I will say, Kemba gave me 60 tonight. I will have to say that one,” said Jimmy Butler, who was tasked with shutting down Walker for much of Saturday night, minutes after hitting the…Read more...

If you have the stomach for it, pick a night when the Washington Wizards have a game at the same time as another game between pretty much any two other NBA teams, even really shitty ones like the Phoenix Suns or New York Knicks, and spend some time toggling back and forth between the two every few minutes. The effect…Read more...

One week ago, the Golden State Warriors were 11-2, Steph Curry was the MVP favorite, and everyone was laughing at the Rockets. Five games later, the Warriors are 12-6, deep-seated personality differences have surfaced, and Curry is out until after Thanksgiving. All is not well, and after an 0-3 stretch through Texas…Read more...

Last night, I went with my girlfriend to see the new Harry Potter movie. It was, no joke, one of the best naps I’ve ever paid to take in my life.

“Have you always been a basketball fan?” This is me, asking Mike Watt, one of my heroes, a pretty basic question. It is, if we’re being honest, a feeble softball, lobbed with all the force of an Andy Borowitz gag. This happened around noon, an hour earlier than we were supposed to begin our two-man Skype conclave. The…Read more...

Recently, I joined Deadspin as their social editor. My sister, Megan Reynolds, has worked at Jezebel for a little over a year. This means we both now spend at least 40 hours a week together under the same roof. And now that we are together in this professional environment, I realize there are a lot of things I cannot…Read more...

After half a season of waiting, we finally got our first full dose of Lamar Jackson in the NFL on Sunday. With starting QB Joe Flacco injured, the first-round pick and former Heisman winner at Louisville battled past a stomach illness to take advantage of the opportunity, leading the now 5-5 Ravens to a 24-21 win over…Read more...

Thirty surfers descended on Half Moon Bay, California, on Oct. 26, boards and wetsuits in tow. The athletes were gathered for a ceremonial paddling-out, a celebration to kick off the official start of big wave surfing season, which traditionally begins in early November and runs through March. For the next four…Read more...

You may have seen a quote from Giants star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. going around this morning, about the New York Giants’ chances of winning the rest of their games and making the playoffs at 9-7. “Six games left, it’s really only crazy until you do it,” Beckham told reporters, as if he were in a movie.

We’ve got a controversy! Over spit. A spitroversy.

The Saints spent their entire Sunday afternoon embarrassing the Eagles, but the most humiliating moment might have come early in the fourth quarter of the eventual 48-7 win. Up by 31 already and facing 4th-and-7 just outside of field goal range, the Saints elected to go for it. Drew Brees hit Alvin Kamara on a fly…Read more...